Murray in, Serena Out on U.S. Hardcourts; ATP/WTA Previews
The US Open Series is in play for both the men at Washington and the women at Stanford and Washington, with Top 10 players Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Carla Suarez Navarro in action.
ADHEREL
CITI OPEN
Washington, D.C.; Surface: hard
Men’s Seeds: Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Kevin Anderson, Grigor Dimitrov, Feliciano Lopez, John Isner, Viktor Troicki, Ivo Karlovic, Bernard Tomic, Vasek Pospisil, Sam Querrey, Pablo Cuevas, Jack Sock, Leonardo Mayer
Men’s Floaters: (WC) Tommy Haas, Gilles Muller, Marcos Baghdatis, (WC) Lleyton Hewitt
Men’s Notes: Three Top 10ers in the field…All 16 seeds receive opening-round byes, but some potential interesting second-rounders with (12) Pospisil vs. (WC) Haas, (4) Gasquet vs. the hot-handed Muller, break-up boy (6) Dimitrov vs. the resurgent Baghdatis, and (7) Lopez vs. (WC) Hewitt on his retirement tour…Wildcards went to Haas, Hewitt, Chile’s Nicolas Jarry and streaking American Denis Kudla…Pulling from the event were Thanasi Kokkinakis, Adrian Mannarino and Janko Tipsarevic…the absent Milos Raonic beat Pospisil in the all-Canadian final last year…An American hasn’t won the title since 2007 (Andy Roddick), though three Americans have lost in finals since then…Alexandr Dolgopolov (2012) and Hewitt (2004) are the lone returning former champs in the field.
Women’s Seeds: Ekaterina Makarova, Samantha Stosur, Belinda Bencic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Alize Cornet, Irina-Camelia Begu, Coco Vandeweghe, Zarina Diyas
Women’s Floaters: Madison Brengle, Heather Watson, Sloane Stephens, Lauren Davis, Kristina Mladenovic
Women’s Notes: No Top 10ers in the field and only one Top 20 player…American Sloane Stephens unseeded after her tough last 12 months…Potential tough starts for (6) Begu against the crowd-supported American Brengle, (8) Diyas likewise against the capable American Davis, and (2) Stosur vs. Mladenovic, who she’s needed three sets to beat in their last two meetings…Wildcards were awarded to Americans Louisa Chirico, former world No. 1 junior Taylor Townsend, and Vandeweghe…Notable pulls from the event were former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, Sara Errani, Daniela Hantuchova, and Eugenie Bouchard…In last year’s final Kuznetsova beat Japan’s Kurumi Nara, who is also in this year’s field…Former champs in the field are Kuznetsova (2014) and Magdalena Rybarikova (2013-12).
BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC
Stanford, Calif., USA; Surface: hard
Seeds: Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Carla Suarez Navarro, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina
Floaters: Sabine Lisicki
Notes: World No. 1 and defending champ Serena Williams withdraws from the event citing arm pain…Not a real deep field for Stanford traditionally…Three Top 10ers in the field…The Top 4 seeds receive opening-round byes…Likely tough start for (4) Pliskova after a bye facing Lisicki…Wildcards were awarded to American and former world junior No. 1 Catherine Bellis, Radwanska, Wozniacki, and Canada’s Carol Zhao…Also pulling from the event were last year’s doubles winner Garbine Muguruza and Katerina Siniakova…Stanford is the oldest women-only pro tournament in the world and kicks off the US Open Series of events…No Venus (2-5 career in Stanford finals) in the field either…Serena beat Kerber in last year’s final…There are no former champs in the field.
GENERALI OPEN KITZBUHEL
Kitzbuhel, Austria; Surface: clay
Seeds: Dominic Thiem, Andreas Seppi, Fabio Fognini, Martin Klizan, Juan Monaco, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jiri Vesely, Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Floaters: Joao Souza, Nicolas Almagro
Notes: No Top 20 players in the dirt field, which is led by Austria’s own hot-handed Thiem…Potential tough starts for (1) Thiem vs. the equally-hot-handed Souza, and (7) Vesely vs. the veteran Almagro…Wildcards went to Austrians Gerald Melzer, Jurgen “Tuna” Melzer, and Dennis Novak…Pulling from the tournament were Pablo Andujar, Guillermo “G-Lo” Garcia-Lopez, defending champ David Goffin, Gilles Simon, and Joao “The Other” Sousa…Goffin beat Thiem in last year’s final for his career-first title…Returning champs in the field are Robin Haase (2012-11) and Juan Monaco (2007).
You Might Like:
Serena Williams in Swedish Cake Walk, Men at Newport; ATP/WTA Previews
Serena v Lefty, Crying Game v Slicy in Wimbledon Women’s Semis
ATP/WTA Previews: Nadal, Women’s Full Slate in Beijing
Can Serena lose the title now?
ATP/WTA Previews: Nice, Dusseldorf, Warsaw, Strasbourg